Railway spike for ties



April 9,1940. ECQEAL 2,196,534

RAILWAY SPIKE FOR TIES Original Filed llay 6, 193',

. 29 C A v W//%///// Ill/IA 5 made were substan 10 being concave andconvex respectively. Lugs parallel sides with eac 50 rail where the railcrosses the tie.

Patented Ap 1940 I I I. Q

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

' RAILWAY SPIKE FOR TIES Ernest 0. Neal, Coouille, one, as'signor toRailway Track Joint Corporation, Coquille, reg., a corporation of OregonApplication May 6, 1937, Serial No. 141,066 Renewed December 18, 1939 iClaims. ((11. 85-24) Heretofore railway spikes have been made of tieplates are punched t permit my new and immetals that were relativelysoft, easily bent and proved spike being driven therethrough. of metalthat had no inherent spring action dis- My new and improved spike has adual purpose posed therein. The shanks of the spikes thus in maintainingthe rail in a stable condition,

tially square in cross section. namely: to prevent the movement of therail lon- 5 In my new and improved spike the same is gitudinally of thetie and second to prevent lonmade of steel having a high carbon contentand gitudinal movement of the rail upon the tie plate. one that has aninherent spring action disposed It will be apparent that the spike maybe made therein with the opposite broad faces of the spike from a bar,the cross section of which, will have h of the sides forming 10 tendfrom the opposite ends of the straight lines and where the edge ofthespike is outwardly ex head to permit a claw bar being passedthereformed of straight lines with the edges of the under to remove thespike from placement. spike being disposed at right angles to the broadThe primary purpose and object of my invenfaces of the spike. 1 5 tionis to provide a railway spike that will be stiff. By placing an offsetin the broad face of the A still further object of my invention is toprospike below the head of the spike and positionvide a railway spikethat will not work from ing the inset to engage precisely the outer edgeplacement when the same is driven home within of the rail and having theopposite side of. the

ocation, or at substana tie and through the holes of a tie plate. spikeoffset at the same i A further object of my invention is to providetially the same location and atone or more points, 20 a railway spikethat offers greater compression the rail is then grippedbetween :thespikes on area against the end grain of the tie than railway itsopposite edges. Spikesso made maintain the spikes now in use. rail in astable condition, prevent the transverse A still further object of myinvention is to promovement of the rail and the longitudinal move- 26vide a railway spike. that is to be used in con ment of the rail alongthe tie plate. junction with a railway tie plate and one that will Inorder to further maintain the spike within remain in placement whendriven home within the tie when it is driven home therein, I may the tiethrough the tie plate. place a wind or twist within the body portion ofWith these and incidental objects in view, the the spike in sufficientamount to stress the body 30 invention consists in' certain novelfeatures of portion of the metal of the spike and simultane- 30construction and combination of parts, the essenously to stress the endfibers of. the WOOd within tial elements of which are set forth in theap-- the tie. This maintains the spike in a stable conpended claims, anda preferred form of embodidition relative to the tie and itsimultaneously ment of which is hereinafter shown with referincreases.the gripping force of the spike where ence to the drawing whichaccompanies and the same engages the edge of the rail. 35 forms a partof this specification. The heads of the spikes will not necessarily Inthe drawing: engage the, top of the base, ofthe .rail. Where Fig. 1 is aperspective end view of a rail, a the spikes are made with small headsand have perspective side view of a tie plate upon which anofisetdisposed therein, a lesser amount of the 40 the rail s isp se a d afragmentary p pecmaterial will be required to make the spike head. 40 fiedge e O e Sp ke d ven m thrmlgh The spike head extending above the railbase fathe tie plate. 7 cilitates the pulling of the spike when it isde- Figs- 2 and 3 are edge views of two alternative sired to remove thesame from the tie plate and forms of the spike made having a twist orwind I from engagement with the edge of the rail.

ion of the spike. I My rail spike has broader surfaces that engage 45disposed in the body port Fig. 4 is a front view of the spike. the endgrain of the tie than the spikes now in My new and improved spike ispreferably to general use. It will be preferably made of spring be usedin conjunction with 'tie plates that are material or of material of ahigh carbon content placed upon the tie and beneath the base of the orthat has been heat treated or tempered. This spike eliminates to a largeextent, if notentirely, 60

The tie plates are to be double shouldered in the necessity for antirail creepers.

order that the base of the rail may be made to A railroad spike made ofspring material will engage the shoulders of the tie plate at each sidecompensate for a variation in tolerance that is of the tie plate arid atthe'opposite edges of the customarily allowed in the width of the baseof rail where the samerests uponthe tie plate. The the rail of the samerolling or of a different 55 rolling. Spikes -of my design further allowfor a slightldifierence in tolerance in the position of the shouldersofthe tie plate and of the position of the punched holes in the tieplate. Spring spikes also absorb, in a cushion like manner, thetransverse movement of the loaded vehicle passing over the rails whichare further the rail to absorb the'expansion and contraction of the'rail within the elastic limits of the metal itself from which the railis made.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the severalviews;

I make my spike ofhigh carbon steel, and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4inclusive, the spike is made slightly longer than the conventionalspike.

I place an oifset in the body of the spike substantially below the headof the spike.

The inset 26 is made to engage the edge 21 of the base 28 of the rail.The offset 29 is made to engage the wall 30 of the hole .disposedin thetie plate 3|.

To prevent the over driving of the spike I place a shoulder 32 on therear wall of the spike hole of the tie plate.

Since the head of the spike is not driven home to cause the head toengage the top of the base of the tie plate, the head of the spike ismade much smaller than the head of a conventional spike as isillustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive.

and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarilystated, it isto be understood that it is not intended to confine theinvention to the embodiment herein shown and described, as it issusceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scopeof spikes that are to be used.

the claims which follow;

What -I claim is: 1. A railway said spike being pointed upon one of itsends and the body of said spike having a twist disposed therein.

2. A new article of manufacture made of 15 spring material and saidarticle being pointed on one end and having a head disposed upon itsother end and said head projecting outwardly from either edge of thearticle and said article having a plurality of offsets disposed upon theopposite broad face of the article of manufacture, and the body of thearticle being of greater width below the head and on the opposite sideof the spike upon which the inset is disposed and the body of vthespike, disposed below the inset, having a wind disposed therein, and thebody of the to the u spike when the spike is driven in a railway tie.

ERNEST C. NEAL.

